Go to the Recipe: The Ultimate Grilled Salmon Steak
Are the pin bones an issue in the cutting of these into steaks?
I was going to ask this too.
Kinda don't wanna use canola oil....would Avocado oil work well enough?
Would it be OK to re-freeze after cutting steaks, or after brining??? We couldn't possible eat a whole cooked salmon soon enough....
Without a charcoal grill, do you advise searing in pre-heated cast iron on gas grill or stovetop?
yes, avocado oil should be fine. avocado has a high smoke point btw which is useful
I would say your best option would be to just have your local fish monger cut you the amount of steaks you need.
All of the bones are in there. But, the pin bones should just pull right out with the spine after they are done grilling!
I would say broiling would be your next best option
I sold my charcoal grill in anticipation of a move but I still have a bit of lump and a chimney starter. This recipe with sous vide cook then quick sear was perfect when used according to the Chefsteps video on grilling with a chimney starter. Paired with the Hibachi eggplant and long bean dish it was an awesome summer dinner. My wife doesn’t normally like the texture of salmon and the taste of smoked salmon and loved this. I have no access to good fresh seafood but the Costco salmon steak sold here for $10/lb were cut perfectly for this treatment.
I was only able to buy a side of a salmon, but it still worked great. I sliced the filet into 1.5" strips and trussed the neighboring strips together, but flipped such that the thick side of one was flat against the thin side of the other. I cured for about 3 hours in the fridge, cooked sous vide at 50C for 60 minutes, then finished them on a super hot griddle. Everyone loved them, even the people who said they only like to eat salmon in sushi forms. Also, it turned out I was basically out of liquid smoke, so I substituted with a little gravy master. Worked great.
Everything looks great until the fish is not seared but burned. I never tasted anything blackened this much to be any good and it's crazy unhealthy to eat that.
I honestly don't understand why the grilling part was not redone, this website is not some YouTube channel trying to reach you how to do things the right way but then show you how not to do it...
All the efforts to char the salmon?
Looks beautiful, love the char!
Welcome to America! We love char!
This looks gorgeous. I have a question though... I know that it is possible to cook frozen beef sous vide- just add 30 minutes. Would it be possible to cook this from frozen - I know the trussing would be difficult. I buy packs of 3 kg of NZ or Australian frozen salmon and it is often late when I finish work and remembering to take the fish out to defrost and then to bag and marinate a day later, is a bit too hard for my tired brain to think so far ahead on a week night.
It looks amazing!!
I have a question: In the sous vide do you use the liquids from the cure after 24 hours ?? Or just the salmon steaks go to sous vide ?? In case you use the liquids from the cure to sous vide, I will need to frost a little bit so I can better vacuum the liquids with my home vacuum machine ??
Yes, you do use the cure in the sous vide cook, and I would recommend not fully vacuum sealing the bag. There is no need to fully seal it. In the activity, we just place the cure and salmon in a zip-lock bag and drop it right into the water bath from the fridge.
You would need to have your salmon thawed for the cure to do its work on the fish.
What does the force of the hose do to the texture of the salmon" Once in Hainan, China we were at a restaurant where you picked your fish/seafood from the tubs of swimming fish and to my horror, the man picked up the fish by the tail and slammed it against a wall. When served, the fish had a definite mushy texture from such rough treatment. I learned to specify that it not be killed that way. So I am wondering about the pummeling from the hose.
Simple Awesome, I had salmon steaks that were only an inch (not my choice, all that was available compensated with 120F instead of 122), 24 hour cure... best ever. It'll be even better when I butcher my own salmon, but that's next time... and there WILL be a next time.
It tastes delicious. That’s why we cook.
Perfect. Brined for 48 hours and finished on my baking steel at 550 on the grill. The best fish I’ve ever cooked. Was amazing hot, and just as good cold the next day. Thanks so much!
There's sugar in the cure, it's going to caramelize and burn. There's a big difference between burnt sugar and burnt fish.
This looks awesome. Could you skip the souvide part and put them on a cedar plank?
Salmon was moist and lots of flavor. Prep time is considerable. But worth it for special occasion. Will do again.
Using a vacuum sealer does not work. Sealer pull liquid out of bag preventing a good seal. Used water displacement with zip lock bags.
Couple of quick questions: 1) Curious if you've tested the same cure/brine in vacuum sealed bags vs. ziploc bags to see if dry brining time can be sped up with similar results? 2) Would you change dry brine %'s for salt and sugar for smoking vs. sous vide and grill? I am hot smoking the salmon after brining so no need for me to add liquid smoke and I will be able to get a good vacuum seal. Thanks for the great content!
Hi Rick,
1. There was no difference between vac sealed and ziplock for this one. Vac seal won't speed up the process here.
2. No need to change any of the measures if you want to leave the smoke out.
Kyl, many thanks for the lightning quick reply! Just to clarify, I meant would you change the brine ratios of 1.5% salt and 10% sugar for a hot smoking application vs. the grilling method used here, not so much just due to the elimination of the liquid smoke. Thanks!
No change to those ratios for a hot smoke.
OK. Made this. Epic! Super easy and the flavors and texture were wonderful.
Julian, I was curious if you tried the cedar plank method and what your result was.
Can you put everything in a vacuum bag and freeze it? I'd thaw it for 48h then follow the recipe.
Good question! With the freezing and thawing you will pull a little extra moisture with the cure, and would make the assumption that you could brine it for a little less time. Let me know how that turned out.
